Palm Beach County scraps treasure hunt at DuBois Park

Officials won't allow dig to see if local man found buried treasure

November 10, 2011|By Andy Reid, Sun Sentinel

A would-be treasure hunter searching for pirate gold can't dig at a Palm Beach County park, county officials decided Thursday.

Concerns about disturbing a historic site — and the possibility of metal detector-wielding copycats flocking to county parks wanting to dig — prompted the county to quash plans for the dig at DuBois Park in Jupiter.

Just last week, the county was working on a proceeds-sharing deal with a local man who proposed a small dig to find out what was setting off his metal detectors at the park.

The size and location of the unknown buried object, as well as the history of the area, convinced him it was a chest of riches, possibly buried hundreds of years ago by shipwreck survivors or even pirates passing the Palm Beach County coast.

But after objections from the Loxahatchee River Historical Society and questions from state officials, the county denied permission for the dig.

The park, home to an American Indian mound, should not be disturbed by digs unless they are for historic or archaeological research, according to County Administrator Robert Weisman.

Human remains have been found throughout the park, Weisman said.

"Anyone with a metal detector can think they have found treasure and we should not encourage this activity on county lands," Weisman said. "There is no reason to think there is any sort of 'treasure' other than of a historic nature on the site."

The county now plans to make all county lands off limits to treasure-hunter digging. Using metal detectors to hunt for metal objects under the sand at county beaches still will be allowed, Weisman said.

There has already been 30 years of archaeological digging at DuBois Park, which includes the Indian mound and the DuBois Pioneer Home.

Longtime county resident William Mooney wouldn't disclose the exact location of his find at the park but said it was just a few feet below the ground and could be retrieved with a simple shovel and at no expense to the county.

In his pitch to the county, Mooney argued that the history of the location and feedback from his instruments indicated this was something more than buried junk.

In addition to metal detectors, Mooney said he used dowsing instruments — also known as divining rods — that indicated "precious metal," according to his proposal.

South Florida's history of shipwrecks and pirates traveling along the coast factored into Mooney's assertion that there was buried treasure to be found.

The Indian mound — with oyster shells and other discards from some of Florida's earliest residents —would have been a prime landmark for someone looking to bury treasure 200 years ago, according to Mooney's proposal.

Mooney proposed a 75/25 split with the county on whatever was found. Though doubtful that Mooney would find anything, county officials were working on a deal that would have given him about 10 percent of any proceeds.